In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
If you say you'll burn your car
If you'll burn that motor car
And I know it is faux pas
And I know it is faux pas
If she means that much to you
If there's nothing you won't do
Yeah, you'll burn it through and through
Yeah, you'll burn it through and through
Bring her head back to me
Bring her head back to me
She's not all she's meant to be
She's not all she's meant to be
If you cut her, she will bleed
If you cut her, she will bleed
If she means that much to you
If there's nothing you won't do
Yeah, you'll burn it through and through
Yeah, you'll burn it through and through
Bring her head back to me
Bring her head back to me
Take out the carving knife, yeah pull her to bed
Pull out the carving knife and take off her head
Take out the carving knife, yeah pull her to bed
Pull out the carving knife and
Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut off her head
Bring her head back to me
Brign her head back to me
The butcher, the baker
The candle-stick maker
If you drive a car then I know you're a faker
If you'll burn that motor car
And I know it is faux pas
And I know it is faux pas
If she means that much to you
If there's nothing you won't do
Yeah, you'll burn it through and through
Yeah, you'll burn it through and through
Bring her head back to me
Bring her head back to me
She's not all she's meant to be
She's not all she's meant to be
If you cut her, she will bleed
If you cut her, she will bleed
If she means that much to you
If there's nothing you won't do
Yeah, you'll burn it through and through
Yeah, you'll burn it through and through
Bring her head back to me
Bring her head back to me
Take out the carving knife, yeah pull her to bed
Pull out the carving knife and take off her head
Take out the carving knife, yeah pull her to bed
Pull out the carving knife and
Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut off her head
Bring her head back to me
Brign her head back to me
The butcher, the baker
The candle-stick maker
If you drive a car then I know you're a faker
Lyrics submitted by VelveteenDoll
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My friend and I have discussed the meaning of this song on a couple different occasions. Let me break it down for you:
"If you say you'll burn your car If you'll burn that motor car And I know it is faux pas" --Basically, this guy claims that he loves a girl so much that he'd actually burn his car for her. This is probably a big deal for him, otherwise he wouldn't have said it and she wouldn't say he couldn't do it ("and I know it is faux pas", meaning, "and I know it isn't true)
"If she means that much to you If there's nothing you won't do Yeah, you'll burn it through and through" --The singer is skeptical of the man's claim to prove his love for some girl, so she tells him that if he truly loves this girl, he'll burn the car like he says he will.
"Bring her head back to me" -- This doesn't make a whole lot of sense until you listen to the next verse
"She's not all she's meant to be If you cut her, she will bleed" --This could go two ways. 1)This girl isn't as strong as she seems, so if he hurts her, she will run away from the relationship. 2)This girl isn't as perfectionate/godly as he views her, and will still bleed if cut
"Take out the carving knife, yeah pull her to bed Pull out the carving knife and take off her head... Pull out the carving knife and Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut off her head" --Finally the "bring her head back to me" makes sense! The singer wants him to prove that his love is as strong/perfect as he makes her out to be. Therefore, the singer challenges him to hurt his love emotionally to prove that she won't run from him. If he can "bring her head" back to the singer, then he has proven that the love can withstand anything.
"The butcher, the baker The candle-stick maker If you drive a car then I know you're a faker " --The rhyme above it is kind of eerie, but fits the mood. "Of you drive a car than I know you're a faker" is referring to his earlier claim to burn his car. If the singer witnesses him driving his supposed burned down car, then she knows he was full of it.